


Bones

by lunabelle



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Addiction, Alternate Universe, Anxiety, Depression, Drug Addiction, Drug Withdrawal, F/M, Illnesses, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Character Death, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Strangers to Lovers, Support Group, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:53:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26424433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunabelle/pseuds/lunabelle
Summary: Well, this is my 50th work posted on AO3 and for the Parks universe. Who'd have thought I'd come this far? It averages to about ten new pics per year since I've started doing this, which is kinda wild. I know these past couple of years have been slow with writing, but I just couldn't get the idea of another AU out of my head.I want to forewarn people, this fic will be dark. You know I love a good angsty story, but I always at least like to include a happy ending. This will be one of those fics, rest assured, but it will be darker getting there. I only felt it fair to warn people, because I wanted to and felt it was right.Another thing I'd like to mention: This fic was expanded upon from a shorter one shot from my AU collection,In Another Life. I changed a few things around, but a good portion of this chapter is taken directly from that singular fic.So, all that being said, please read the tags first, make your own decisions, and if you choose to continue, please enjoy. :)
Relationships: Andy Dwyer/April Ludgate
Comments: 10
Kudos: 15





	1. Andy

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is my 50th work posted on AO3 and for the Parks universe. Who'd have thought I'd come this far? It averages to about ten new pics per year since I've started doing this, which is kinda wild. I know these past couple of years have been slow with writing, but I just couldn't get the idea of another AU out of my head.
> 
> I want to forewarn people, this fic will be dark. You know I love a good angsty story, but I always at least like to include a happy ending. This will be one of those fics, rest assured, but it will be darker getting there. I only felt it fair to warn people, because I wanted to and felt it was right.
> 
> Another thing I'd like to mention: This fic was expanded upon from a shorter one shot from my AU collection, _In Another Life_. I changed a few things around, but a good portion of this chapter is taken directly from that singular fic.
> 
> So, all that being said, please read the tags first, make your own decisions, and if you choose to continue, please enjoy. :)

She’s there every single day. There, in that same chair, the very last row on the right. Andy noticed right away that she always sits on the end, so she can arrive once the session has already started and she can leave before it officially ends. She never says a word, but she hangs on everyone else’s. It fascinates him, partly because he finds it hard to pay full attention at these things anyway. A distraction is welcome.

 _A distraction from a distraction,_ he thought to himself.

He wanted to know more about her. Why she comes here, why she leaves so early, who she is…but it's honestly none of his business. If she feels like sharing with the group, then maybe he'll learn something. If not, it isn’t his place to ask. After all, everyone is here for similar reasons. But she never shares with the group, so he’s often left wondering.

“Why do you always stare at me?”

Her voice was right behind him as he poured himself a lukewarm cup of the coffee from the pot that was always provided. When he turned around, nearly knocking the rickety old table over in the process, she was standing there, staring at him with a steely expression and pursed lips. Her arms were crossed, quietly sizing him up with her glare. Her dark eyes were nearly obscured by thick, black bangs.

“Huh?”

“I said, why are you always staring at me? Do you think I don’t notice?”

“I—I don’t stare,” he stammered, unsure what to say. It had been a while since he’d had a decent conversation with anyone. He’d kind of forgotten how.

“Are you broken?” she asked, after another lengthy pause.

“No,” Andy shook his head. “Sorry I…I don’t mean to stare. I just…I notice that you always leave early and you sit kinda close to me, so it’s hard not to. T—to notice, I mean.”

Her expression changed at once. Her frown was gone, and she bit her bottom lip. Her eyes circled back to the rows of chairs where a few people had started to take their seats again.

“These things are stupid,” she finally said, before following suit and pouring herself a cup of the now cold coffee. She grimaced in disgust after the first sip. “The coffee sucks, and I don't care about these people or their stories.”

Andy shrugged. He found that hard to believe, because she was always listening intently whenever someone was speaking. “Why come, then?”

“I have to,” she said, simply. “Doctor’s orders. Apparently, they’re afraid I’ll go crazy if I don’t.” She twirled her finger by her temple as she spoke, the ghost of a grin returning to her lips.

Andy wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Instead, they stared at each other in uncomfortable silence for a few moments, the chatter of the voices around them buzzing loud in Andy's ears. Break was almost over, and the second half of the session was about to begin.

“Do you wanna go sit down?” he asked, gesturing to two seats. He expected her to say no. To scoff and turn her back on him. Instead, she gave him some semblance of a smile—a real one, this time—and nodded.

“I’m Andy,” he extended his free hand to her, once they were seated in the familiar back row.

“April,” she replied.

Her hands were freezing. Now that he was able to get a better look at her, he noticed just how small she was. A full head shorter than him, and extremely thin. Actually, almost dangerously so, if he were to get medical about it…but Andy definitely wasn’t a doctor.

“How long have you been coming to these things?” April asked, interrupting his thoughts.

“Um…about a year,” he said. “You?” He wasn’t entirely sure when she started coming. For all he knew, she could have been here longer before he actually started to notice her.

“A few months,” April crossed her legs and stared at him sadly. “I hate it.”

“Doesn’t it help you?” he asked.

“Does it help _you?”_

 _No,_ he thinks to himself. _Not really._

“It—“

There was the sound of someone clearing their throat, and suddenly a woman was at the podium, ready to speak.

“Would anyone like to start the second half?” she asked, glancing around the room with benign interest.

Several people raised their hands in the air, and before long there was a young man taking the stand, quickly brought to tears by his own recollections. A few other people listening offered words of support, sympathy, and encouragement. Hugs were given, more tears shed. After a while, April began to shift uncomfortably beside him, and glanced back toward the exit.

“I think I’m gonna leave,” she whispered to Andy. Her dark eyes shone like two huge, black pools.

“Oh okay,” he sat up a little straighter. He could actually use a bit of air himself. “Mind if I sneak out with you?”

“Sure.”

They stood up, and Andy followed April through the back door just as he heard the next speaker asking everyone to hold the hands of the people seated on either side of them.

They walked to the parking lot in silence. It was freezing for early November. Their breath puffed out in little clouds with every step. Andy warmed his hands in his pockets, while April leaned against a car that he assumed was hers and pulled a cigarette out of her purse. She offered Andy the pack, but he shook his head.

“So,” she took a long drag on it and breathed out. “Why do you come here?”

“Sorry?” Andy said, caught off guard. He lost in thought again.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don't want to,” she said, looking down quickly. “I just thought…you know, maybe you wanted to tell me or something. I mean, why else would you keep talking to me?”

Andy was intrigued by her. There was something about April that he just couldn’t shake. Even though they’d only just started speaking, the idea of him bringing up things with her that quite honestly brought him more anguish than he cared to feel didn’t seem so bad. Wasn’t that the point of these stupid groups anyway?

“My girlfriend died about a year back,” he said softly. “Cancer.”

April’s eyes softened at once, and she looked directly at him now. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah,” he sighed, remembering again those terrible last few weeks and how he’d never felt worse in his entire life. “It sucked.”

 _It sucked._ He tried to think of something more to say, but he came up empty.

“My sister,” April said suddenly, tossing her cigarette in the dirt and stepping on it.

“Oh,” is all he said in return.

“Car accident…it was pretty bad. The guy in the other call called for help, but by the time the ambulance came, she was already gone. I was in the hospital for two weeks.”

“I’m sorry,” Andy offered. He thought about his six older brothers, and how the thought of losing any one of them would be absolutely devastating. “How long ago?”

“Four months,” April said. “How long ago did your girlfriend…y’know?”

“She got sick a couple of years ago,” Andy said. “Breast cancer…it was pretty advanced for someone so young.” The memories came flooding back to him. The doctor’s appointment when they’d found out. The weeks of chemo and radiation. The temporary remission. Then suddenly, she was gone. “She died a little over a year ago, and that when I started coming here. Nothing else was helping and I found myself going to some pretty dark places, mentally.” He tapped his head with his finger. 

“Yeah, well,” April sniffed. “Depression isn’t easily cured I guess, but this support group shit is better than talking to a shrink.”

Andy watched her. Her eyes were sad, searching for some sort of comfort that he didn’t know how to give. It had been too long since anything had comforted him. He didn’t think it was possible anymore.

By now the session had ended. People had started emptying out of the little building and heading to their cars, chattering softly. Another week down. Andy really didn’t want to go home, though.

“Listen,” he said, taking a step closer to April. “It’s freezing out, and I’m starving. Did you wanna get something to eat? Maybe some good coffee? There’s this awesome diner that we can walk to from here…JJ’s. Have you ever been there?”

“Once,” she smiled, “and yeah, the coffee’s pretty good there.”

“So, you wanna go?”

April sighed, staring at the last person filing out the door. Then she looked at him again, and shook her head. “No.”

“Oh,” Andy said, immediately disappointed. “Okay, well, that’s no problem…”

“Look, I like you Andy,” April said digging around in her purse. She pulled out an empty cigarette box and a pen, scribbled something down, and handed it to him. Andy glanced at it quickly. It was her phone number. “Sometime I’d like to hang out with you, but not tonight.”

“Why not?” He was genuinely curious now.

“Because,” April said, pulling her keys out, “I know what’ll happen. We’ll go out, we’ll have dinner together, then after that I’ll invite you to my place or you’ll invite me to yours. We’ll probably have a few drinks, and we’ll probably end up sleeping together.”

Andy’s face reddened immediately. That was certainly _not_ what he was getting at. “What? No! That’s not—“

“I just don’t want that to happen,” April said, ignoring him, “because I like you, and I want to get to know you. I don’t want to make it weird. Deal?” She stared at him so boldly, so confidently, that he could only nod.

“Um…yeah. Deal.”

“Okay,” April smiled that same small smile at him and opened her car door. “You’ll call me sometime, right?”

“Yeah,” Andy said. “I mean, I’ll see you next week at group, right?”

“Sure,” April started the engine. “But I’ll be kinda bummed if I don’t hear from you before then, Andy.”

Andy chuckled softly as April closed the car door. She gave him one last smile before she drove away, and Andy watched her tail lights until she turned the corner at the end of the street.

Now, he wasn’t so hungry anymore. He just wanted to go home again.

These days the only sound that greeted Andy when he returned to that little one bedroom apartment was the click-clack sounds of his dog’s paws coming to greet him. Champion only had three legs, but what he lacked in anatomy he made up for ten-fold in personality and willingness to thrive.

Andy would never forget the day he found him at the shelter. It was a month after Ann had died, and he was beyond lonely. He thought that just maybe, he could stroll among the animals and get some joy—some peace—out of something pure. Champion was in the back of the kennels, and Andy remembered how sad he’d looked, how broken and abandoned. He’d never identified with an animal as much as he did in that moment, and he knew at once that he needed Champion as much as Champion needed him. So he immediately filled out an application, and the shelter was so thrilled that someone was taking Champion that they waived the adoption fee altogether.

Now, as Andy cracked open a beer on the couch, Champion rested his head on Andy’s thigh and let out a sigh. This was often their nighttime routine. But tonight, Andy couldn’t get April out of his head. Maybe it was because he was starved for conversation other than what he got at the Parks Department where he worked as a part-time shoeshine. Those conversations were come and go, quick ten minute interactions of no substance. He craved something more, and tonight at group was the first time he’d felt something like that in a long time. He couldn’t wait to see April again.

So, he texted her.

Yes, it was weird that he’d just seen her hours ago and they’d sort of just had their first conversation, but she _did_ give him her number after all, right? She wouldn’t have done that if she didn’t want him to contact her. She flat out told him she hoped to hear from him soon.

Andy glanced at the framed photo of him and Ann that he kept on his end table by the couch. It was taken long before she’d gotten sick, it had been her favorite photo of them. It sat on the same table when they’d lived in their house together, before Andy had to move out and sell the house because he couldn’t afford the mortgage on his own. At once, he felt like he was betraying her memory. They’d been together for four years, and naturally the next step would have been marriage. Then, when things hit the fan, all of those thoughts involving their possible future were put aside to focus on the now, on getting her _better._ None it had mattered in the end. All he had were memories.

“She’d want me to be happy,” Andy mumbled to himself, looking down at Champion in the process. Champion lifted his head, looked briefly at Andy, and let out a sigh. “Right?” Andy certainly wasn’t happy right now.

He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out the crumpled up empty cigarette pack April had scribbled her number on. It smelled like what he imagined her purse smelled like, slightly minty from probable breath mints, mixed with cigarette smoke and some type of hairspray. He couldn’t help but smile. He typed out his text looked at it.

_Hey April, it’s Andy from group…thought maybe I’d text you—_

No, that’s stupid.

_Hey April, Andy from group…what r u doing right now?_

No, that’s creepy.

_Hey April, it’s Andy. Maybe 2morrow we can get coffee after work. Let me know. It was cool meeting u today._

He hit send before he could stop himself again. Almost immediately, he saw the little bubble that meant she was replying to him, and his heart did a weird little jump.

It was one word with a little smiley face emoji next to it.

_Ok :)_


	2. April

April smiled at her phone. Truly, she wasn’t expecting him to text her back so fast, but the smug satisfaction she felt was worth it. Plus, what harm could he do? So what if they went out for coffee? No big deal. His response came instantly. Three goofy looking smiley face emojis and a coffee cup. God, what a complete dork.

She wanted to know what made Andy so interested in her. It was obvious—and likely—that he could be just like the rest. April _knew_ that could be the unfortunate truth, and always prepared herself for the inevitable let-down she felt when she met a guy, they had a drink together, hooked up, and then cut each other loose. By now, she’d learned how to dull the sting to the point where it was nothing more than something akin to fun.

But…Andy felt different. For once, April felt like she met someone who saw the world the way she did, understood it the way she understood it. Felt betrayed by it and hated it the way she did. That thought alone was enough to convince herself to move forward with this. It was the one reason she didn’t decide to go out with him tonight, enjoying the idea that he had to work for her company, that she wasn’t totally giving herself to him that easily like she so often did with others. The fact that he wanted it enough to honor her request of waiting, yet texted her not too long after, frankly, excited her.

She wondered how she’d never noticed him sitting there in that stupid weekly group. She always sat in the back, so there was many a time where she would spend most of the session zoned out, in her own world, looking at the other people there who never went up to the podium to share stories—which she never did either—and she would try to guess what they were there for. Who they had lost in their lives that drove them to find comfort in this type of thing. Not once had she noticed Andy.

April stretched, ready to fall asleep for the night after another day that felt like all the others that came before it, save for the one new encounter with Andy. She thought about their eventual coffee meet up, grateful that it added something to look forward to. That was the only thing that gave the useless hours ticking by any meaning. Reaching for the little orange pill bottle on her nightstand, she shook two of the little pills in her palm and swallowed them instantly, chasing the dry taste in her mouth with some water. Then, for safety’s sake, she took a third. Such was the nightly ritual.

Then, before the usual drowsiness took over, she thought about how she was running low on pills and needed to get more. Would Andy be as interested in her if he knew what she relied on to get through her days? Probably not, but he didn’t need to know about it. He didn’t seem to notice at group when her hands started shaking, when the sweat was beading on her forehead and she needed to step outside for some air before she got sick. Although if he did notice, he was kind about it and didn’t say a word. She guessed she’d never really know.

The solitary street lamp outside her window flickered, in need of a new bulb. She watched the patterns of light dance along her bedroom wall, and in no time, April fell into the dreamless sleep she longed for.

They met at the diner Andy had mentioned, the only real good place in town that had decent coffee and food that didn’t taste stale. JJ’s Diner was a staple of their small town, and April actually really enjoyed it the last time she’d gone.

The taxi dropped her off in the parking lot, but there was no sign of Andy. They’d agreed to meet outside. Nerves started bubbling up in the pit of her stomach before April had to remind herself that Andy didn’t seem like the type of guy who would stand someone up.

Shaky hands reached into her purse and fished out a cigarette, but no sooner had April taken the first drag did an old, beat up truck pull up in the closest spot, stopping with a grinding halt. Andy practically fell out when he opened the car door, rushing over to where April stood.

“Oh my God,” he panted, straightening his shirt. It was almost exactly the same as the other day. Plaid flannel, only this time green instead of blue. “I’m so sorry I’m late! Work was nuts… Were you waiting long?” His face was red.

“No, chill dude, I just got here,” April grinned. “You’re fine.”

That seemed to make Andy feel better. He let out a long breath. “After you,” he smiled, holding the door open for April.

A waitress seated them in a little booth for two in the back of the restaurant, near one of the windows that looked out into the parking lot. April immediately reached for the menu, but Andy only folded his hands in front of him and looked at her, his eyes darting away when she met his stare.

“Andy…are you nervous?” April said, chuckling.

“What, me?” He laughed a little, tapping his foot. “No, I’m fine.”

“Aren’t you gonna order something?” April gestured to the untouched menu by Andy’s hands.

“I already know what I want,” he said, shrugging. “I get the same thing every time. It’s called the _Everything Breakfast Platter.”_

April stared at him. Now that she got a closer look, it was obvious he’d put some gel in his hair in order to slick it back a bit. He was still shifting in his chair nervously, his eyes darting around.

“Andy,” she whispered, and she slowly reached out and placed her hand on top of his folded ones. They were incredibly warm. “We’re just getting coffee. Two people, getting coffee.”

Andy chuckled. “I know,” he said. “I’ve just…y’know…I haven’t really gone anywhere with anyone since…well…”

“Coffee?”

They looked up. A waitress stood by the table, pen and pad in hand.

“Yeah,” April said, pulling her hand away and folding her menu. “Two coffees, the _Everything Breakfast Platter,_ and I’ll have some buttered toast.” She handed the woman her menu, then Andy’s. “Thanks.”

“That’s all you want?” Andy asked, as the waitress shuffled away.

“Yeah,” April shrugged. “I’m not a big eater.”

“They serve breakfast all day here,” Andy said. “You can order anything you want.”

“I know.”

“Okay,” he shrugged. “Just wanted to make sure you knew.”

They stared at each other. It was a little awkward, and for a moment April had that sudden, all too familiar urge to flee. But she had to stick it out, at least for now.

“So, uh,” Andy coughed, and immediately cleared his throat. 

“So, what do you do for work?” April asked, cutting in before he could say anything else. She needed him to stop fidgeting. “You said work was crazy, so what do you do?”

“Oh,” Andy looked at her now, focused. “Well, during the day, I work at City Hall.”

“Are you serious?” April’s eyes widened. _“I_ work at City Hall!”

“What? Dude…” Andy laughed out loud. “Where?”

“The Parks and Rec department,” April said. “How have I not seen you before?”

“I’m the shoeshine in Pioneer Hall!” Andy was laughing now.

April couldn’t understand how she’d never noticed him before. Now it was just insane. First the support group, and now she literally _worked_ with the guy. True, every day she went to work there were always a million other things on her mind, dozens of other places she’d rather be, but to have _never_ seen Andy there before?

“That’s awesome,” April said, just as the waitress arrived with their coffee. Now, Andy looked much more relaxed as he added a questionable amount of sugar to his coffee. He was actually even more handsome when he smiled, something April hadn’t noticed before. “Okay, question time.”

“Huh?” 

April sipped her coffee, black, just like she liked. “Let’s get to know each other. I mean, we both work at City Hall and had no idea. What else can we discover about each other?” Fully aware of how dumb she must have sounded, April pushed that thought to the back of her head. “We each ask a question, and we both answer it each time.”

“Okay,” Andy nodded. “Deal. You go first.”

“Asking or answering?”

“Answering, since you already asked me.”

“Okay.”

“Where did you grow up?” Andy asked.

“Indianapolis,” April said. “My family moved to Pawnee when I was thirteen. You?”

“Pawnee my whole life,” Andy said.

“My turn,” April rolled her lips, trying to think of a good question. Their food arrived then, Andy’s massive platter of waffles, bacon, eggs and sausage, and her tiny plate of toast. “What do you do for fun?”

“Play in my band,” Andy said.

“You’re in a band?” April’s eyes widened. 

“Yup,” Andy said proudly. “We’re called “Mouse Rat” and we’re awesome. We haven’t played a show in a while, but…we still get together now and then.”

“What do you play?”

“I’m lead singer and I play guitar,” Andy said. “It’s the best.”

“That’s actually really impressive,” April nodded. She wasn’t going to admit to him that she had a soft spot for musicians. Not yet, anyway.

“What about you?”

“Ha…well, nothing as awesome as playing in a band,” April played with the corner of her napkin. _Does getting high count?_ She thought bitterly to herself. _Numbing myself to sleep?_ “I write, occasionally.”

“Woah, really?” Andy smiled. “What types of things do you write?”

April shrugged. “Some poetry, some personal stuff…I dunno. Dumb stuff, I guess.”

“I’m sure it’s not,” Andy said.

April took a bite of her toast and chewed slowly. For some reason, she wasn’t that hungry. She reached for her coffee instead. “Your turn to ask me a question.”

“How old are you?” Andy looked at her.

“Twenty-seven,” April said. “You?”

“Thirty-five,” Andy replied.

 _Okay,_ April thought. _There’s definitely an age gap there, but not a bad one at all._

“Do you have any pets?” she asked.

“I have a dog,” Andy said. “His name is Champion. You want to see a picture?”

“Oh my God, yes,” April said immediately. _Score one major point, Andy._

Andy took his phone out and searched for a moment, before handing it to April. There on the screen was a brown and white dog, sitting and staring up at the camera with the happiest expression on its face that April had ever seen. That’s when April noticed Champion’s legs.

“Andy,” she said slowly. “Does Champion have…three legs?”

“Yeah,” Andy nodded. “When I adopted him, I thought, this guy is definitely in need of some love, so why not? He’s awesome, though. He can run just fine. In fact, he can do a lot of things really well. Except for digging. He’s actually really bad at digging.”

“Andy,” April handed him back his phone. “That’s awesome.” She meant it, probably more than anything else she’d said to him so far. If her soft spot for musicians was prevalent, her even softer spot for animals was a way of life. “I’d love to meet Champion sometime.”

“Seriously, anytime,” Andy said happily. “He loves meeting people.”

The atmosphere between them was more relaxed now, and Andy seemed to think so too, because the tapping and fidgeting had stopped altogether. April was grateful for that.

“So, it’s your turn to ask me,” she said.

“Okay,” Andy thought for a moment. “How many siblings do you have?”

It was an accident, April knew that. It was a question that he asked in the moment, because they were relaxed and having fun and getting to know each other and it must have just came out in his haste to ask her something. All at once, the mood shifted, and April wanted to be anywhere but at the table right there with Andy in that moment. Andy realized his mistake a fraction of a second too late. He looked at her, horrified.

“April, I’m—I didn’t—oh man, I’m so sorry, I just—“

“It’s fine,” April shrugged it off as best she could. “It’s whatever, Andy, I know it was an accident.” He was fidgeting again, and April wanted to yell at him.

“I’m the biggest idiot in the world,” Andy said softly, meeting her gaze with sad, soft eyes that probably matched her own. “Really, April…I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” April took a deep breath, then a long sip of her coffee that was cold now, just to do something with her hands. “I have no siblings,” she said finally. “My sister was the only one.” She sighed, and her hand twitched next to her purse on the seat, where that orange pill bottle sat. If only she could reach in there without him looking… “Do you have any siblings?”

“I do,” Andy said softly. “I have six older brothers.”

“Holy shit,” April actually laughed out loud. “Dude, your poor mom…”

Andy laughed, looking relieved again. “Yeah, she gets that a lot.”

“My turn to ask a question,” April said, after the laughter had died down and they sat there in silence once more. Andy’s food was mostly untouched, and April figured he was too nervous to eat. For a split second, she thought about asking him something uncomfortable. Something to even things out after his last question. Then she remembered that she would have to answer the same thing…and also…he hadn’t meant it. She had to keep telling herself that. He hadn’t meant it, he was a good guy. He wouldn’t intentionally cause her stress. He was different.

“Shoot,” Andy said, oblivious to the firestorm of thoughts in April’s brain.

“Why did you want to go out with me tonight?” The question came out naturally, but April really wanted to know the answer. In fact, she needed to know.

Andy looked at her, almost as though he was shocked she would ask such a thing. He opened his mouth once and closed it, before he cleared his throat softly.

“Because I wanted to get to know you,” he said quietly, looking directly into her eyes.

“Why?” April didn’t break eye contact with him.

“Because I see you every week at group,” Andy said, “and you sit in the back and you don’t say anything, but you look like you have so much you actually _want_ to say.”

April didn’t realize that she was holding her breath. She let it out, waiting.

“All I know is that I know how you feel…or at least I think I do,” Andy added, playing with the handle of his coffee cup. “And I haven’t met anyone else who feels like I do.”

Neither of them really noticed when the waitress came over and cleared their plates, leaving the check between them. They stared at each other, unblinking.

“Neither have I,” April said softly. “How do you know how I feel, though, Andy?”

Andy shrugged. “I dunno, April,” he sighed. “I just do.” He took out his wallet, placed some money down. April made to do the same before he waved her hand away. “You good?”

“Yeah,” she stood, shouldering her bag. “Thanks for dinner, by the way.”

“Don’t mention it,” Andy said, following her to the exit.

It was cold outside now. The stars were out and the wind whipped at their clothing. Andy pulled his keys out of his pocket.

“C’mon, I’ll walk you to your car,” he said.

“Oh, I got a ride here,” April said, nearly forgetting herself. “I’ll call a cab.”

“What? No!” Andy shook his head furiously. “I’ll give you a ride. C’mon, don’t get in a random car with some creepy guy.”

“Seems to me I’m doing just that,” April said pointedly, grinning at him.

“Ha ha,” Andy said, holding the passenger door open for her. “Guess I walked right into that one, huh?”

“Totally did.”

“This is me,” April said, not five minutes later. Pawnee wasn’t terribly big. Her apartment was only a few blocks from JJs.

The car ride had been mostly silent, save for the soft music playing from Andy’s stereo. April was tired, and that familiar shaky feeling had been creeping up on her since they’d left the diner. Andy turned off the engine.

“You want me to walk you to the door?” Andy looked at her.

“No, I think I’ll be fine walking the ten feet to my porch,” April laughed, rolling her eyes.

“I mean, it’s dark and all that,” Andy added, squinting into the darkness in front of them. “Just in case.”

“I’m good, Andy,” she said. “Thank you, y’know, for tonight. It was fun. I’m glad we did this.”

“Yeah, me too,” he nodded. “Maybe we can do it again sometime?”

“Yeah, for sure,” April said. “Maybe next time I can meet Champion?”

“Oh, totally!”

April nodded. She held the door handle, waiting. “Thanks again for tonight,” she spoke softly.

“Hey, thanks for agreeing to come with me,” Andy said. He grinned at her. “See you soon?”

“Yeah,” April nodded as she opened the door and slid out, into the cold night air. “See you soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed, please leave a comment! They're literally the best. <3


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